Abstract
Hepatocarcinoma represents one of the most malignant cancer types. Esophageal cancer-related gene 2 (ECRG2) is found to be critical in the process of carcinogenesis. It regulates urokinase-type plasmin activator receptor and extracellular matrix function and its polymorphism in exon 4 is associated with cancer relapse. To explore new strategies to fight against cancer, here we first systematically evaluated the therapeutic potential as a biological tool using adenoviral vector (Ad-ECRG2). Ad-ECRG2 is exogenously expressed in cytoplasm and is potent to suppress the growth of cancer cell by inducing apoptosis as effective as Ad-p53. Ad-ECRG2 is able to suppress the invasion and adhesion of cancer cells at low titers. It alters the expression of a panel of cancer-related molecules, including nuclear factor-kB, matrix metalloproteinase 2 and E-cadherin, contributing to reverse malignancy phenotype of cancer cells. In vivo experiments show a significant inhibition of cancer growth by intratumoral Ad-ECRG2 administration. No evident toxicity was observed in the model animal during the study. We concluded that ECRG2 is a potential molecular target in biological therapy strategies for cancer treatment.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the grants from National Key Basic Research Program (NKBRP) (973 program) (no. 2009CB521807). We are greatly appreciated for the supports.
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Song, H., Song, C., Wang, H. et al. Suppression of hepatocarcinoma model in vitro and in vivo by ECRG2 delivery using adenoviral vector. Cancer Gene Ther 19, 875–879 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/cgt.2012.77
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/cgt.2012.77
